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FAQ

What is the IREL Group?

The IREL Group is a collection of like minded engineers who came together to design what has become the Dominion Airship. The team consists of award winning engineers who have worked at organizations such as NASA, ConocoPhillips, and the TransCanada Corporation. It also employs professors of mechanical, structural, composites, and aerospace engineering from Texas A&M and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.

What makes the Dominion Airship unique?

As the only commercial aircraft with three-dirigible components, the Dominion Airship stands to revolutionize the cargo transportation industry – in terms of design, functionality, payload, fuel efficiency and cost savings.

With the ability to deliver up to 240 tonnes* of cargo to remote areas with little or no infrastructure, coupled with the 40 percent fuel burn rate reduction compared to its fixed-wing competitors (the Airbus 380F and Boeing 747-8F) Dominion Airships can deliver a cost effective and energy savings alternative to end users from around the world.

Who are the projected end users?

With the Airship’s capacity to carry large amounts of cargo, coupled with its ability to deliver this cargo to remote areas with little or no infrastructure, make it an ideal courier for a number of niche markets:

Energy and mining

Commercial long-haul freight

Military cargo airlifts

Humanitarian aid

The Airship will also serve as a cost effective alternative to standard aircraft couriers. Because of its energy savings (40 percent reduction in fuel burn rate compared to its competitors) end users will be able to recoup costs that would otherwise be allocated for fuel.

How did the idea of the Dominion Airship come about?

President and CEO, Dr. Gordon Knight, compiled a team of North America’s most innovative flight, structural, control systems and composite engineers and launched Dominion Airships in response to the specialized transportation requirements of the Canadian energy sector – delivering cargo in a cost-effective way to remote areas with limited or poor infrastructure. Recognizing the global appeal of its functionality, Dr. Knight envisioned an aircraft that can deliver a cost effective and energy savings alternative to end users from around the world.

Having worked in the energy industry for many years, Dr. Knight understood the inherent obstacles and costs when transporting heavy equipment manufactured in one country and then shipped oversees to another. As a result, he identified a niche market where aircrafts with heavy payloads could access remote operations while being delivered by the most fuel efficient means available.

What makes the Dominion Airship different from its competitors?

The Airship can carry up to 240 tonnes of cargo for trips up to 310 miles and 170 tonnes on trips up to 5,060 miles. Its closest competitors, the Airbus 380F and Boeing 747-8F have maximum payloads of 165 and 154 tonnes, respectively.

The Airship also has the unique ability to access areas that would otherwise be impossible for fixed-wing aircrafts to access because of its dirigible makeup, which allows it to hover 80 feet above ground while delivering its cargo. No runways or infrastructure is needed for it to operate.

The Airship has a 40 percent reduction in fuel burn versus its competitors, the Boeing 747-8F and Airbus 380F. As a result of the reduced fuel burn rate, it also has a 40 percent reduction in propulsion emissions.

Is the Dominion Airship a clean energy alternative to its competitors?

The Dominion Airship is not only revolutionizing the payload capacity of airline freighters, its also setting unprecedented clean technology and sustainability standards in the air cargo industry:

The Dominion Airship is designed to carry a heavy payload (170 tonnes) while using 40 percent less fuel/km than its fixed-wing competitors, the Airbus 380F and Boeing 747-8F.

Because it will be burning 40 percent less fuel than its fixed-wing competitors, it will in turn produce 40 percent less emissions compared to the particulate intense streams emitted from jet engines.

The environmental footprint is considerably smaller than its fixed-wing competitors, as the aircraft has the ability to perform door-to-door transfers by hovering at industrial sites, thus saving land normally needed for runways and airport facilities.

The Dominion Airship flies lower, outside most commercial air corridors. In doing so, its flights are more direct, thus burning less fuel while flying between locations.

Dirigibles use helium for lift (rather than fuel) and are propelled by three, high efficiency turbine engines.

Dominion Airships is also a clean transportation alternative to shipping, which poses threats to the environment both on inland waterways and on the ocean. These problems come from six major sources:

Routine discharges of oily bilge and ballast water from marine shipping

Dumping of non-biodegradable solid waste into the ocean

Accidental spills of oil, toxics or other cargo or fuel at ports and while underway

Air emissions from the vessel’s power supplies

Port and inland channel construction and management

Ecological harm due to the introduction of exotic species on vessels.

How will the companies benefit financially from using the Dominion Airship?

Businesses and organizations that transport goods internationally often find themselves paying for overnight air transportation when they otherwise wouldn’t need to. This is because shipping; while less expensive, can often take weeks to arrive at its destination, leaving the business with one option: pay the inherent costs of air transportation to ensure their product arrives to its destination in a timely matter. The Dominion Airship, because of its standard cruising speed of 150km/hour (93mph) and its fuel efficient makeup, will serve as an intermediary logistics option for companies that need to transport their goods in a timely, yet cost effective measure.

While traveling to its destinations, the Dominion Airship will burn 40 percent less fuel than its competitors, resulting in additional cost savings for its users, compared to its fixed-wing competitors.

What was the inspiration for the design?

Dominion Airships developed the tri-hull design as a means of reducing aircraft size, weight and vulnerability, while retaining payload and range capabilities. Unlike fixed-wing aircrafts, which need runways and infrastructure to take off and land (and ultimately trucks or vans to pick up and deliver shipments), the Airship will fly directly to manufacturing facilities or customer loading docks and hover 80 feet above ground while cargo is being loaded and unloaded underneath.

As the only dirigible aircraft in the commercial cargo industry, the Dominion Airship design involves three semi-rigid dirigibles, inflated with helium and connected with a composite truss frame, which is powered by three GE CT7-5A engines. The safety of the Airship crew is critical, therefore purified helium (an inert gas that acts as a fire extinguisher) will be used for buoyancy and lift.

Each airship will be constructed of non-flammable, composite, lightweight materials and will have a built-in lightening protection system to prevent injury to the crew or harm to the cargo.

How will production be handled?

The first Airship will take approximately 1 year to complete, with the first 4-6 months allocated for regulatory processes (attained licenses, permits, certifications, etc) and the final 6-8 months for the physical build process. The balance of regulatory certification will commence upon completion of the first unit build.

When all of the appropriate regulatory processes have been completed, it is anticipated that production will reach 11 Airships during its first year with capacity reaching 15 per year shortly thereafter. Because Dominion does not require large buildings for assembly, it has the flexibility to choose when and how to increase production.

How far can an Airship travel and what are its approximate flight times?

The Airship will travel at a standard cruising speed of 93 mpg (150km/hour). It will have the ability to carry 240 tonnes of cargo up to 310 miles and 170 tonnes up to 5,060 miles.